Could I have MS

[soccermomtokt]

Hello,  The reason I am here is because for the past couple of years I have suspected that I may have MS.  I am a 34 year old female that grew up in the Pacific NW.  The last couple of months I have been experiencing some new symptoms that are really bothering me.  My back on the left side of my spine keeps getting a tingly numbing feeling.  The other symptom is I am having some odd pressure around my bladder and feeling like I have to use the restroom often.  My older symptoms are blurred vision, tingling in my hands and feet and fatigue.  I have always put those aside by making excuses that they are caused by my hypothyroidism.  I have never mentioned to my DR that I have these new symptoms or that I think I may have MS.  I feel like she is going to blow me off and blame it on my thyroid (like she usually does).  Also I am self employed and have horrible independent insurance so I do not want a ton of medical bills.  Do these symptoms sound like they could be ms and if so what type of DR should I go see?  If it is MS and I put it off can it make it worse in the future?
Thanks in advance

[amas]

Hi and welcome,

Sorry your in this situation and feel that you can't rely on your doctor to take you seriously.  Like SL said, hypothyroid can have a lot of similarities with MS.

I have two sisters and a mother who have hypothyroid.  And a friend with Fibromyalgia.  We tend to all sound the same with some of our issues.

I happen to have both Hypothyroid and MS. I also happen to have hypertension, which isn't an auto immune disease but between it and the hypothyroid issue it was hard to find out what was happening to me.  My hypothyroid was diagnosed 12/06, the hypertension 4/07 and MS just two weeks ago.

Last year I was having a lot of symptoms and I figured they were all related to the thyroid problem.  MS even had come up in my searches but I dismissed it. It was my doctor who finally felt there was more to it. (one would hope a doctor can put it all together right!)  Her main concerns were my dizziness, loss of balance and then in the middle of all this, my left side torso went numb.  She then went to my history and saw that I had some vision issues two years before and swallowing problems recently.  I had felt I was falling apart and she must think I'm a hypochondriac.  I'm lucky I had a good relationship with my dr. and was finally diagnosed and can now get treatment.  

You know your body best and it is very difficult to get decent help.  I have learned so much by reading the post here.  One of the things they recommend is to do a timeline of your symptoms to take to a Neurologist. Maybe this can help you understand what is happening to your body and why not take it to your dr.  Perhaps having it all down on paper she can get a better picture.  There are some symptoms that can lean towards or away from diseases.

If you think a timeline might help you, go to the top right side of the page and click on Health Pages.  There is a lot of information there. I'm new to most of my diagnoses and still have a lot to learn.

Anamaria

[sllowe]

HI there!

I'm glad you found us!  Well, I can tell you, no matter what it is, you've got a lot of people here who will help you through it all.

I totally don't blame you for not bringing it up to your Dr.  It's hard, when you know they are going to say, and it's something you already have, and they are not going to help make it go away!  I feel that way with MS, lol!

Really, I do though.  I feel that EVERYTHING can't be MS.  But, guess what, most of the problems I have, just simply are.   I found it out the hard way.  In the past 2 months I've gone to a few Docs regarding a couple issues and they found nothing.  I basically wasted my time, but at least I'm not stuck, not knowing, and trying to get something fixed that can't be.

Funny, you say thyroid.  My neighbor was going through ALOT of the very same things as me.  I was dx'd with MS, she has a failing thyroid.  I could not absolutely believe how the "symptoms" cross over between the two.  It's unreal!  I'm not saying that is the case with you, but just mentioning since I experienced it 1st hand with her.

So, ma'am, welcome!  Kick up your feet and thank you for joining us.

We're here for you, and can help you sort it out, and bare minimum, help you w/your strength to muscle through this "Dr." and your next move!

be well,
SL